Unlocking One Think Tank's Oily Secrets

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Why would the John Locke Foundation, a "conservative North Carolina-based think tank" launch a "series of scathing attacks" against the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS), a Pennsylvania-based "nonprofit group of scientists, engineers, business strategists and policy experts who guide states in figuring out how to best reduce greenhouse gas pollution"? Sue Sturgis follows the money, and finds that Locke "received at least $126,500 from outfits with ties to the fossil-fuel industry between fiscal [year] 2002 and 2005." Locke funders include DCI Group, Atlas Economic Research Foundation and Reason Foundation. In September, Locke and the Heartland Institute (which has received funding from ExxonMobil) hosted a conference call on CCS's alleged "hijacking of climate policy." During the call, Locke's Michael Sanera suggested discrediting "CCS's Sponsoring Organization (State environmental bureaucracy)" and demanding "cost-benefit analysis by academic economists." Later, Locke released a "peer review assessment" of CCS's methods, drawn up by the Beacon Hill Institute. Not disclosed was the fact that Beacon's clients include several oil industry-funded climate change skeptics, such as DCI Group, Heritage Foundation and Pacific Research Institute.